Improvement in skates



diluted tant stent @Wire Letters Patent No. 106,725, :lated August 23, i870,

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of the same.

` To all whom itmay concern -Be it known that I, ALFRED C.' PLA'r'r, ot' Sandusky, in the county ot' Erie and in the State ot' Ohio,

- have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Skates; and do hereby declare that the follow-v ing is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, ref'- crence being had to the accompanying drawing andto the letters ot' reterencemarked thereon, making a part of this specification.

The. modes of securing skates to the foot at present.

in use, do not meet the requirements otl convenience, l

comfort, and beauty. v

1n the use of straps, as now applied, .much time is required to fasten and uni'asten them, which, with' nngloved hands, as is usually required,.is anything but agreeable in the cold.

These straps have to be encumbered with clumsy buckles, loops. and bunches, which not only prevent their resting easily upon the foot, but destroy whatever beauty of contour' or elegance of' form it may possess.

The securing of these buckles requires long ends of straps,` to take hold of', which are in the way, and add still further to the clumsy appearance ot' the foot.

Besides, it' the holes are not punched right the skate l is lett too loose, or drawn so tight as to be painful. Some slack is also required for the tongue ot' the .buckle to enter the hole in the strap. This necessitates a strong pull and severe compression of the foot to render the' skate suiiciently'tight when on.

Ko method of securing skates now iu use admits of wearing an over-shoe; and the straps contracting around the feet prevent the free circulation of the blood, and, consequently, cold feet 'is a common complaint among skaters, even when the renminder of the body is kept in a glow of warmth by the exhilarating exerercise. y

In securing the heel with a screw, as is common with mcns skates, holes have to be made purposely, with some instrument not always readily obtained, and then much time is required to screw .on and uuscrew the skate, and `the operation isvery awkward and irksome. These holes being on the bottom ofthe sole, become filled with sand, gravel, or frozen earth, which renders the operation ot securing the skate very ditiicult, if not im possible, without obtaining an instrument ior reopening the hole. f

Where skates are secured without screw or straps, boots or shoes are required purposely for them, or au extra platey is required to be attached to the heel, which, if the boot isworn when not skating, is liable to become kicked olf, or the opening in it rendered useless by becoming iilled with frozen earth, sand, or gravel.

The toe has to. be secured by the slow process ot' turning a screw with a wrench, and the same tedious wayot' taking it oi is required. This method always `brings the foot in the same unalterable position upon the skate, whether it is that whiclris the most comfortable or not.

When the weight of the body is removed from the broad base of the. foot to the narrow edge ofthe sk ate, muscles unused to such a strain are brought into play, and soon become exhausted, rendering skating very irksome and diiicult. This is especially the. case withnew beginners, with those who seldom skate, or those who, from any cause, have. weak ankles. Skates, as now made, are provided with no adequate support for the ankle.

My improvements, as will be hereinafter described, obviate these disadvantages and diticulties, andgreatly facilitate the application and detachment ot' the skate, and render it comfortable to the foot and elegant in appearance.

In order to enable others skilled ilrthe'art to which my invention appertains to L nake and use the same, I` will now proceed to describe its construct-ionand operation, referring to the annexed drawing, in which- Figure l is a side view of a skate, with my improvement, attached to an over-shoe Figure 2 is an enlarged view of the mechanism for tightening and holding the straps;

Figure 3 is a bottom view ot' the skate;

Figure 4 is a side view ot' the skate fastened to the foot; and

Figure 5 is a plan view ofthe heel and rear portion ofthe foot-plate. f

A represents the foot-plate, bent so as so form the heel-plate, and provided, on its underside, with posts, B B, to which the runner C is secured in any suitable manner.

Uponthe portion of thel plate A which forms the heel, is placed a heel-plate, D,- from which descends a screw-bolt, a, through an opening in the plate A.

On the under side yot' the plate D are also four pins, a', i. which are inserted inl holes upon the plate A. lhere are a large number of such holes, as shown in iig. 3, so that the plate D can be readily adjusted in any desired direction.

It is secured by means of a thumb-nut, b, placed ou the lower end of the bolt a, a washer, d, being interposed between said nnt and the underside of the -plate A.

The heel-plate E is iirst adjusted, so as to bring the heelin the position which best suits the skate. It' the heel of the boot or shoe is i'un over, or if, as is frequently the case, the skater prefers the skate a little on the inner side of theV foot from the center,` or

further forward or back, the heel-plate can be adjusted to the position wanted: and secured by t-he thumbnut l).

In the plate A, a suitable distance in front of the heel, is a longitudinal slot, having ratchet-teeth, c e, on one side, as shown in g. 5.

Through thisvslot is passed a holt,f, the head of which rests upon a washer, g, placed. over the slot, and on said holt, immediataly below the washer, is formed a small spur-wheel, 7i., which engages with the. ratchet e. Y

Below the plate A the bolt f passes through a spul', E, the rear end of which isl forked, ami passes put through slots in the bent-down portion of the footplate A.

Under the spur E on the bolt fis secured a cam, G, and a plate, H, with level' I, as shown.

In rear of the front post B is secureda guide-bar, J, above which run two clamps, K K, the front ends of hich are curved outward and there bent outward, forming thel lips kk, while their rearends extend under the plate H;

At a suitable point on theunder side of the footplate A, between the guide-bar J and the cams G, are hooks, m, to hold the clamps.

Theheel-plateD being adjusted as above described, the clamps'K K are drawn out, and the foot placed upon the skate in the position wanted, either centrally or a little toward the inside, or in any position thatis preferred, when the clamps are slid back against the edges ofthe sole of the boot or shoe, on each side, and the spurE is slid against the front of the heel. The spring leverI is then turned toward the toe, brought under the foot, and drops between the clamps K K.

In' turning this lever the spur E is crowded into the front of the heel,by the spur-wheel Jt and ratchet e, and by the cams G G, acting upon the hack ends of the clamps K K, itpresses the lips It' 7c into the edgesofthe sole, and the skate is quickly and very rigidly and rmly secured to the boot or shoe.

The spur E is made wedging downward, so that, as it is crowded in, it presses down and secures the heel firmly in its place. l

The -clamps K, K are provided with notches, as shown in iig. 3, which tit projections upon t-he fulcrums at a n, and are thereby prevent-ed from slipping. These clamps being curved, as the cams G press 'upon them, the ends which clasp the sole are drawn down as well as pressed inward, and thereby the front part of the skate is very firmly secured to the boot or shoe.

For further security, where the boot or shoeis not suticiently tight upon the foot, or beinginade of thin leather or cloth, is too weak to sustain the skate sufciently firm,the strapsL and M are used in combination with the pail N and tightening device O.

The tightening device O consists of a post, shaft, or spindle, p, around which are wound two cords, Tfr, connecting with the straps L and M.

Upon the lower end of this spindle is the ratchetwheel s, in which gear two spring ratchets, t t.

The upper or outer end ofthe shaft or spindle p is provided with an ornamental knob, P, permanently secured to it, or it may be made square to receive a key or wrench, for winding it up, which may be carried in the pocket.

To loosen the skate, the outer ends of the ratchetpawls tt are pressed together Awith thc thumb andl ringer, when thecords immediately unwind, and, the lever I being turned hack, the skate is free.

The shaft p, with ratchet-wheel s and pawls t t, are placed in a box upon the plate R, which is secured to the pad N. i

'lhe strap L passes through a loop formed at the heel end of the foot-plate A, and has a ring secured at each end.

The strap M is secured in its middle on the under side of the foot-plate A, near the toe, the ends crossing each other above and passing through rings 'v lu, attached in the hooks n n, as shown.

The cnds of the strap M are provided either with rings or eyelets, for the cords 1' r to pass through.

The cords fr r pass through holes in the shaft or spindle p, one end passing through the ring at one end of the heel-strap L, and there attached to the corner of the pad N, the other end passing through the eyelet inthe end of the strap M, on the opposite-side, and secured to the opposite corner of the pad.

This arrangement ofthe straps L M combines elegance and comfort to the foot, .with the line of draft where, and only where, most needed.

In the vordinary skate, heavy double straps pass over the toes, where but little force is needed.

These wide straps are required to prevent injury to the foot, on account of their position, crossing, as they do, the `joints of the toes, while the heel is secured by a single strap, which, owing to its diagonal position to` the line of draft, does not give the "requisite security to the heel, where the greatest force is needed.

By my arrangement the front straps cross the foot between the outer joints of the toes, and do not cramp them together, yet press the foot easily but firmly to the skate. Passing hack they connect again near the center, and, being tightened over the foot at this point, help to secure the heel, as will readily be perceived.

In iig. l, I have represented a combined skate and over-shoe., which is designed to prevent cold feet, arising from causes previously described.

The-upper part is made of elastic material, to readily admit the foot, without lacing, and conform to its shape when on.

The shoe S is lined with a loose or elastic lining, and, between it and the outer covering, the straps L and M' are arranged, as shown.

These straps may be tightened by the device O, placed under the foot, as represented, or it may be placed uponthe top of the foot, the post or shaft projeeting through the laces, upon which a knob of any ornamental design may he placed. for turning it, as above described.

In'the device O I use two pawls, t t, so that-,if one is accidentally hit and loosened, the other will hold the skate.

Attached to the lining, on each side of the ankle, are the elastic ankle-supports, ww. The lining is padded where these supports are, to render them easy to the ankle.

Between the lining and outer covering of the shoe is a stiff piece of lea-ther, passing up behind the heel. To the top of this the heel-straps L are attached, and, whenthe skate is tightened, these straps draw around the ankle-supports w w`, and compress them tightlyv on each side of the ankle', and thereby snpport it.

The top of the skate forms the sole of the over-shoe, the heel being made hollow, to receive the heel of the shoe.

The advantagesof the hollow heel are- .Fil-st, securing-the heel of the boot or shoe from moving in any direction when in.

Second, this form allows the spur E passing through in front of and into the heel of the bootor shoe, thereby assisting to secure the skate where the straps L and M are insuticient. l

Third, it permits the form of the over-shoe to conform to tlf-at of the shoe or boot, by permitting the hollow of the over-shoe to come up to that Within it, thus retaining the elegance of form of the foot, not

causing it to look bungling, as overshoes now in use do.

Having thus fully described my invention,

lVhat I-claim as new, aud desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The adjustable heel-plate D, constructed as described, so as to be capable of adjustment in any direction desired, substantially as and for the purposes ,herein set forth. Y

2. The Wedge-shaped spur 15 constructed as` described, and operated by means of the ratchet c and spur-wheel 71, substantiallyas and for the purposes .herein set forth.

3. The notched clamps K K, constructed as described, and operated by means ofthe cams G G, substantially as and for the purposes herein set 4forth.

4. The combination of the bolt f, spur-wheel h, ratchet e, cams G G, and spring lever I all constructed and arranged as described, to operate the spur E and clamps K K, with one motion of the lever, substantially as herein set forth.

5. The stem or spindle p, provided with ratchetwheel s and one 0r more spring pmvls t, for the. purpose 'of winding one or more cords or straps around said spindle, to tighten the skate, substantially as herein set forth. l

6. In combination with thelighteningdevice O, the pad N, substantially as and for' the purposes herein sel; forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing, I have hereunto set my hand this 20th day of May, 1870. ALFRED C. PLAL'T.

Witnesses:

E. M. CoLvER, D. S. WORTHINGTOX. 

